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Giving Commands in Korean

There is what we
call imperative sentence which we use in making commands or orders. A positive
imperative begins with a verb. Although you is absent, it is
implied as in (You) open the door. The negative imperative begins
with a don’t plus the base form of the verb as in Don’t open the door.
In Korean, certain verb-endings are attached to the verb and they vary
depending on the level of speech.

You can use 십시오 ending
in formal situations as in airport announcements where the passengers are
asked to proceed to a certain gate number. You would hear …손님여러분은지금탑승구 10 번으로가십시오 (… passengers, please proceed now to Gate 10).

When you wish to be
polite but not necessarily in formal situations, use the 세요 ending.
This is what older people, strangers, and someone in higher position expect to
hear from you.

When talking to
friends or younger people, simply use the casual ending. The formal and polite
endings are equivalent to saying please.

Verb + (으)십시오 (formal)

Verb + (으)세요 (polite)

Verb + 아/어/여라 (casual)

사용후물을내려주십시오.

Please flush the toilet after use.

잠깐만기다려주십시오.

Wait a moment, please.

다시천천히말해주세요.

Please say it again slowly.

먹기전에손좀씻으세요.

Kindly wash your hands before you eat.

빨리먹어(라).

Eat quickly.

Verb + 지마십시오 (formal)

Verb + 지마세요 (polite)

Verb + 지말아(라) (casual)

여기서는담배를피우지마십시오.

Do not smoke here.

불장난하지마세요.

Don’t play with fire.

너무늦게자지마세요.

Don’t sleep too late.

걱정하지말아요.

Don't worry.

아무것도만지지말아라.

Don’t touch anything.

NOTES:

As you can see, the
negative command (causal) evolves a little in terms of spacing and spelling. -지말아요 and
-지말아라 retains the ㄹ in 말다.
Whereas -지마라 and 지마 drops
it. You may see that 지마 has no space in between.
Practically, they are all the same but differs in tone or mood. We can say that
'하지마' sounds gentle while '하지말아'
and '하지말아라' sounds intense and forced.